Motorola pins hopes on Android strategy

Motorola is pinning its hopes on Android in a comeback strategy that will see it moving towards high-tier phones.

The US based manufacturer is poised to release its first Android handset, only its second phone in 2009, in a bid to claw back share in the face of declining sales and a fall in the market.

Motorola released its luxury handset, the Aura, with a £1,500 price tag earlier this year, alongside an ad campaign fronted by David Beckham.

One senior Motorola source told Mobile: ‘Android will be the focus going forward, this is big news for us.’

The manufacturer’s first Android device will be branded ‘Dext’ in the UK and will initially be sold exclusively on Orange.

The source said Motorola is looking to take on the likes of Nokia’s N97 and the Palm Pre in the high-end market, and added: ‘We are aiming for the high tier, although this is a long way from the Aura.’

The new handset will also see the company move into social networking with a service called MOTOBLUR, a unique solution for its Android portfolio. The source said: ‘This is the only product that brings together MySpace, Facebook and Twitter where you can see all updates simultaneously.’

The social networking platform will allow users to see all friends’ updates from the three sites when a call comes through.

Motorola share prices increased by 6.5% last week on hopes the company could turn around its handset business, which is currently making huge losses.

One analyst said Motorola would need to sell around two million smartphones per quarter to return to profitability in handsets.

The manufacturer is launching another Android phone later this year, with more to be released in 2010.

LG Android device to compete with MotorolaLG has announced its long awaited first Google Android phone, the LG GW620.

The handset is the first of several LG Android devices expected to be announced in 2009. The GW620 offers a three-inch full touch-screen and a QWERTY keyboard.

The GW620, out in the fourth quarter of this year, is centred on social networking and will follow the LG KS360 and the GW520.

On announcing the new partnership with Google, LG also reaffirmed its commitment to Windows Mobile. The manufacturer said it will introduce a minimum of 13 new smartphones over the next 16 months that use Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, including the new 6.5 version.